“I am pleased to inform you that you will be inducted into the New England Weightlifting Hall of Fame as a Significant Contributor. Your dedication to being a wonderful meet director, coach, athlete, referee, and administrator of our sport has certainly been recognized over the years”
–Travis Cooper, New England WSO President
In a nutshell, in the sport since 1979. Competed in a total of 97 sanctioned meets (1980-2013), Local, National, International with 2 World Masters Championship Gold Medals, and 2 World Masters Records, and 5 Pan AM Golds with many records.
We ran 71 Sanctioned USAW Competitions from 2005-2020 (names of the many volunteers are listed in link – thank you all!!) and supported our grass roots recruitment mission by coaching nearly 200 lifters that entered competitions in New England. Still Coaching and teaching Level 1 and 2 USAW Coaching Courses.
Huge thank you to New England AND Pan AM Master Hall of Famer Bob Sweeney for his nomination, and my fellow lifters from the 80’s Art Guerra and Tom Nunan whom I understand seconded the nomination.
And of course, thanks to the legendary Coach Joe Mills of Central Falls Rhode Island, whom I was VERY fortunate to have met in 1980 at a small clean and jerk competition at a Fair in upstate CT. I won my weight class and best lifter, but our first meeting was when Joe walked right up to me and said “You keep lifting like that Valentino you’re gonna kill yourself! Come down to the Club and I’ll teach you how to lift”. Well , I did, up until his passing in 1990. Tried my best to embody his teachings “Lifting is a way of Life – 2 deep breaths and I can do anything”. Now 43 years later, this news. Elated!